The National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers has come down to one game for all the marbles with the two teams set to take the field Saturday night in Game 7.
The Dodgers hand the ball to rookie sensation Walker Buehler, who is making his third postseason start but first in an elimination game. “My other postseason starts now as well I guess only real elimination game, is Game 3 my junior year, World Series,” Buehler said when asked if he’s been in a similar scenario.
The 24-year-old has been great for the Dodgers all year, but he understands the magnitude of this start compared to all of the other ones he has made.
“Game 7 to go to a World Series, I don’t know if it gets more high stakes than that,” Buehler said. “And I think if you approach it the right way — it’s hard to put into words what could happen and what we hope happens.”
In what was an elimination game for them, the Brewers’ bats broke out against Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 6 en route to a 7-2 victory. “I would say what they did with their bats today is not a surprise,” Buehler said of the outburst.
“You don’t get to be one of the last three teams in baseball without having a complete team. So we’ve done some things, as well. It’s down to one but at the end of the day, we like our team.”
Among those who is confident in the rookie starting in Game 7 is Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I think Walker is prepared for this moment. As far as his rest, he’s ready to go,” Roberts said.
“And as far as his heartbeat, the weapons, all that stuff, we’re in really good shape with him. He understands the magnitude of this moment, this game, and he’s a good person for us to take the baseball.”
The Brewers counter with a right-hander of their own in Jhoulys Chacin. The Dodgers offense will look to jump on him early with a well-rested Josh Hader ready to go in the bullpen.
Want to get your content COMPLETELY AD FREE? Click here to follow us on Apple News!
